Next Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Next Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 25,197 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,965,000. Blackstone accounts for about 0.8% of Next Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $1,275,747,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 99.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,381,767 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $983,690,000 after acquiring an additional 3,178,133 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the first quarter worth about $164,597,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 85.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,709,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $417,620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in Blackstone by 476.1% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,324,168 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $204,193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094,307 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.11, for a total value of $6,619,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 516,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,911,260.87. This represents a 8.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone purchased 573,614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.15 per share, for a total transaction of $15,000,006.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 8,455,758 shares in the company, valued at $221,118,071.70. The trade was a 7.28% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 1,339,180 shares of company stock valued at $35,062,433 and have sold 7,562,000 shares valued at $40,331,085. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BX shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $215.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $136.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.95.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $143.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.72. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $101.73 and a fifty-two week high of $190.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $126.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.70. The company has a market capitalization of $108.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.20, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.56.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a $1.29 dividend. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 115.44%.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc (NYSE: BX) is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone’s business is organized around several principal investment platforms.